Dubai hosted 15.37 million overnight international visitors in the first 11 months of 2023, up by about 20 per cent annually, with the emirate's tourism sector making a strong rebound after Covid-19.
The 11-month performance is 2.5 per cent above the 15 million international visitors the emirate hosted in the same period in 2019, before the onset of the pandemic, data from Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism showed.
The emirate, which has been recording a surge in tourism numbers, was ranked the world’s most popular destination for holidaymakers in Tripadvisor’s 2023 Travellers' Choice Awards for a second year in a row.
Dubai International Airport welcomed 22.9 million passengers in the third quarter of 2023, the highest quarterly traffic since 2019, operator Dubai Airports said in November.
That took the total traffic for the first nine months of the year to 64.5 million passengers, up 39.3 per cent from the same period in 2022.
Overall, Dubai Airports expects visitor traffic for the entire year to exceed pre-coronavirus levels and hit 86.8 million, up from 86.4 million in 2019.
Western Europe was Dubai's top source market in the first 11 months of 2023, accounting for 2.9 million travellers or 19 per cent of the total number of international visitors to the emirate, the DET said.
South Asia was the second-biggest source market during the period, with 2.75 million visitors or 18 per cent of the total.
The GCC was the third-biggest region contributing visitors to Dubai, with 2.43 million visitors or 16 per cent of the total.
The roughly two million tourists from Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Eastern Europe contributed 13 per cent of the total number of people visiting Dubai, the data showed.
Visitors from the Mena region made up 12 per cent of tourists that visited Dubai while North and South-East Asia accounted for 9 per cent, the Americas 7 per cent, Australasia 2 per cent and Africa 4 per cent.
The jump in tourist arrivals kept the emirate's hotels busy, with average occupancy during the year through to November rising to 77.2 per cent, up from 72.6 per cent in the same period of 2022 and exceeding the pre-Covid levels of 74.9 per cent in the first 11 months of 2019.
Revenue per available room, a hospitality industry performance metric, stood at Dh394 in the January to November period, up 4 per cent annually and 30 per cent compared with the corresponding period in 2019.
Hotel guests stayed 3.8 nights on average in the first 11 months of last year, slightly below the four-night average in the same period in 2022 and 3.4 nights in the corresponding period in 2019.
PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
1 Man City 26 20 3 3 63 17 63
2 Liverpool 25 17 6 2 64 20 57
3 Chelsea 25 14 8 3 49 18 50
4 Man Utd 26 13 7 6 44 34 46
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5 West Ham 26 12 6 8 45 34 42
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6 Arsenal 23 13 3 7 36 26 42
7 Wolves 24 12 4 8 23 18 40
8 Tottenham 23 12 4 8 31 31 39
What is 'Soft Power'?
Soft power was first mentioned in 1990 by former US Defence Secretary Joseph Nye.
He believed that there were alternative ways of cultivating support from other countries, instead of achieving goals using military strength.
Soft power is, at its root, the ability to convince other states to do what you want without force.
This is traditionally achieved by proving that you share morals and values.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
WISH
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